Mar 10, 2024 at 11:32 AM Update: 29 minutes ago
The reusable plastic cup is increasingly gaining ground over the cardboard coffee cup. Large companies in particular are switching to reusable tableware since the government announced new rules. But the disposable cup has far from disappeared from the scene.
In principle, companies such as offices, amusement parks and sports clubs are no longer allowed to offer disposable tableware if the food and drinks are consumed at the location itself. So an industry is emerging that makes, delivers, collects and washes reusable cups.
Circulware sees “a new small industry emerging,” says owner Erwin van Limpt. In addition to selling reusable tableware, he is now also setting up an industrial car wash. The used crockery can be cleaned there so that customers do not have to wash the dishes themselves. “They want to be taken care of.”
Although Van Limpt sees the demand for reusable tableware growing, he was counting on more customers. The entrepreneur has built up more capacity than he needs so far and he is not alone in this, according to a survey. “It’s not what we expected,” says Van Limpt. He expects the number of industrial car washes to double this year, bringing the total to an estimated ten providers.
The Dutch Cups company expanded the number of operational car washes from one to three in December. Director Dennis Valent also has one on hand in case demand grows further. That is not yet the case, although turnover from the dishwashing section has already increased by about 70 percent since January.
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Car wash for reusable coffee cups: this is how they are cleaned
Politics weakened legislation
This growth is not self-evident, as the outgoing cabinet adopted two motions in December, which significantly changed the rules of the game. For example, politicians decided at the last minute not to enforce the use of cups by companies.
Offices, sports canteens and amusement parks are also allowed to use disposable cups, as long as they do not contain more than 5 percent plastic. This concerns the plastic inner layer against leakage. Finally, companies may request an exception from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate, which has been requested fifty times this year.
When it was not yet clear what politicians would do with the two motions, Circulware saw a “very strong increase” in turnover in November and December: more and more companies wanted to switch to reusable tableware. But when the outgoing cabinet passed the motions, some customers withdrew. “These are doubters who want more clarity from the government,” says van Limpt. “Or they prefer convenience.”
Outgoing State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (Infrastructure and Water Management) expressed this in a letter in December brief to the House of Representatives criticized the motions, which they nevertheless adopted. For example, the investments that entrepreneurs have already made to comply with the rules “would have been partly in vain”.
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‘Demand is declining’
The choice of disposable or reusable cups is “the talk of the day” for Erik Landsheer of GKB Nederland and his customers. The company traditionally sells paper cups, but now also offers reusable options.
Yet it often remains a matter of discussions and smaller companies in particular find it exciting to switch. “The demand for reusable cups is already decreasing,” he says.
Not all experiences with reusable cups are equally good, according to Landsheer. Plastic cups are expensive and sometimes break.
In addition, washing and drying tableware can be quite challenging for companies. At Dutch Cups they also experience that logistics is the biggest challenge. For example, it requires strict planning to get enough clean cups on location if there are three matches in one week in a football stadium.
The State Secretary does not think that the Netherlands will achieve its target
- The Netherlands aimed to reduce the waste stream of disposable cups and food packaging by 40 percent in 2026 compared to 2022.
- Every day, the Dutch throw away 19 million of these types of items that have been used once.
- This concerns 4.4 billion disposable cups every year, of which more than 4 billion are coffee cups.
- Outgoing State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen thinks it is “unfeasible” to reduce this waste stream by 40 percent, given the motions she has passed.
Large companies no longer want disposable products
Enough large companies are switching despite the leeway offered by the law, according to various providers of reusable tableware. Single-use plastics can no longer be justified for all parties from a sustainability perspective.
“Stadiums themselves also like it when their floors are no longer littered with disposable cups,” says Valent. In addition, his customers receive compliments from consumers about the reusable drinking cups.
Thousands of dirty cups are washed per hour in its three industrial car washes. In addition, the machines that make new cups run 16 to 24 hours a day. Customers include a restaurant chain, coffee suppliers, football stadiums and a Dutch amusement park.
Valent still sees opportunities in the field of high-quality recycling of reusable cups. “We can safely grind most broken or damaged cups into plastic pellets and turn them into new cups,” he says. This is currently not allowed by the EU due to food safety considerations. That’s why he still makes trays from his old cups.
Outgoing State Secretary Heijnen calls on her successor to reconsider how the Netherlands should deal with disposable tableware. Van Limpt hopes that the new cabinet will enforce the law.
2024-03-10 10:32:00
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